


I like my coffee like I like my men: strong enough to wake me up in the morning

by relenafanel



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Bucky's into that, Coffee, Cute, Fluff, I'm Serious, M/M, Pining, Steve has a good morning, and makes great coffee, it's cute and adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-10 00:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4370375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/relenafanel/pseuds/relenafanel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His morning only continued to get better when he got to the office and realized he was the first one to the meeting.   Being early meant that Beth hadn’t made the coffee yet, which in turn meant that Steve would be able to make it to his preference for once and could make it as strong as he wanted it.</p><p>He liked his coffee strong enough to wake him up with one cup.  Beth’s coffee usually took three.</p><p>It was a very good morning.  By the time the coffee was done, more of his team had arrived and he could hear Bucky in the hallway greeting the receptionist with a laugh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I like my coffee like I like my men: strong enough to wake me up in the morning

**Author's Note:**

> I woke up this morning and thought 'I will write a cute drabble about coffee for tumblr before working on my WIP'
> 
> *self-reflective sarcasm* 1.5k later...

It was a good morning for Steve, the kind of morning where he noticed things like the birds chirping on his walk to work and the way the sun hit against the pond in the park.  Steve knew that those things probably happened every morning, but he rarely noticed them on his hurried walk into the office. He was early and in a good mood, so birds chirped and water glistened.

 

It was a good morning because his advertising firm had contracted Barnes Photography for a layout, and that meant that Bucky Barnes would be sitting in the conference room for a good part of the morning.

 

That shouldn’t be what brightened his day, but sadly it was.  Steve had been a recent hire the first time he met Bucky.  He’d walked into the meeting and had seen this guy, his long, lean legs in a pair of tight jeans and his white shirt sleeves pushed up over strong forearms, and Steve’s mind immediately started running with the possibilities for the photoshoot.  The man was perfect for the vision Steve wanted, with that gritty, realistic edge that had an innate, objective beauty without it being the focal point.

 

Steve had been disappointed when Bucky was introduced as the photographer.  It had been a struggle to think around the box his mind had created with Bucky in front of the camera.

 

The disappointment lasted right up to the point where Steve saw Bucky’s work.

 

Steve had an eye for aesthetic, but he was hopelessly attracted to talent.

 

His morning only continued to get better when he got to the office and realized he was the first one to the meeting.   Being early meant that Beth hadn’t made the coffee yet, which in turn meant that Steve would be able to make it to his preference for once and could make it as strong as he wanted it.

 

He liked his coffee strong enough to wake him up with one cup.  Beth’s coffee usually took three.

 

It was a very good morning.  By the time the coffee was done, more of his team had arrived and he could hear Bucky in the hallway greeting the receptionist.  He couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Bucky’s laugh, and he hid the reaction behind his mug as Bucky walked into the room, a force of nature with a saunter that led from the hips and probably shouldn’t be one of the reasons Steve was always pleased to watch him arrive.

 

Steve being early to meetings Bucky was involved with had nothing to do with that little fact.  Nothing at all.  Watching Bucky walk was just a perk.

 

“Steve!” Bucky said once he was in the room, eyes surveying the table and grinning at Steve standing at the head.  “I was hoping I got called in for you.  Your work brings out the best in me.”

 

“I only work with the best,” Steve answered, correcting him. 

 

Bucky looked pleased at the compliment, walking over to the side-table and pouring himself a mug of coffee.  “You and me, both,” he responded, with a quirk of his lips and a lift of eyebrows.  It made Steve smile at him, and Bucky grinned back as he took a seat.  “So what do you have for me today?” he questioned, taking a sip of his coffee.

 

“I’d like to do a spread, and I need someo …” Steve started, only to be interrupted by Bucky moaning across from him.  It completely derailed his thought process. 

 

He knew it was because of the coffee, from the way Bucky held the mug reverently with both hands to the way his eyelashes fluttered as he swallowed.

 

It was worse because it was caused by the coffee.  The coffee Steve made, because in a roundabout way, Steve was the _cause of that_.

 

Practically everyone in the room had their attention on Bucky’s face. 

 

“I will go on a date with whichever one of you made this coffee,” Bucky promised, breathing in the scent of it.  “I want to wake up to this coffee every morning, but I’m a realistic kind of guy.  Proposing is a bit premature.  Beth, did you finally learn to put in an extra scoop or three?”

 

Beth looked torn between whether she should be pleased Bucky’s attention was on her or insulted at the slight against her coffee skills.  “Steve made it,” she finally answered in a defensive tone with the full knowledge that evoking Steve’s name would make everyone sit up a little straighter, the mood of the room sobering the moment they were reminded that Steve was project leader.

 

“Steve,” Bucky murmured, turning his clever eyes in Steve’s direction.  His lips pursed around the edge of his mug again, amusement crinkling the corner of his eyes as he took a sip before saluting Steve with the mug.  “You make a good cup of coffee.  What were you saying you need from me?”

 

Steve could give Bucky a list of all the things he needed from him, and most of them could not be said in a room full of Steve’s peers and coworkers.  If only Bucky had actually meant it that way, but Bucky had stopped flirting the moment he looked at Steve, and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

 

Of course, Steve reflected ruefully.  Of course.  Of course Bucky wasn’t going to continue flirting with the coffee maker once he knew it was Steve.  Bucky only ever flirted with the female models and assistants, never with the male ones.  He had a way of doing it that put everyone at ease and no one ever complained at a lack of professionalism in it.  Friendly.  Bucky was friendly and kind with his attentions.

 

Steve was not the only one at the firm completely in love with Bucky Barnes of Barnes Photography. 

 

Steve considered making a joke about needing to make Bucky coffee every morning because it seemed like he didn’t get a good cup very often, but it stuck on his tongue, the weight of his hopeless crush making it impossible for him to joke about it.  He cleared his throat and looked down at the papers spread out on the glass tabletop in front of him.  By the time he looked back up at Bucky, seconds later, he’d turned his thought process back to work.  “If you’d look over the mock-up I made on page three…”

 

x.x.x.

 

“Steve, wait!”

 

Steve tried to leave the moment they were done for the day, but Bucky stopped him at the end of the hallway.  Steve turned to watch Bucky walk towards him, doing his best to keep his eyes locked on Bucky’s face when Steve was the only one Bucky was focusing on.  Bucky looked like he wanted to have a serious conversation, a conversation that he didn’t bring up in the meeting room, so it wasn’t about work.  Steve had thought he’d been able to keep the look of yearning off his face when Bucky had asked what he needed, he’d hoped that he was the only one dwelling on Bucky’s charming joke, but all Bucky had to do was open his mouth and Steve knew he was wrong.

 

“So I was joking about the date,” Bucky said, lips pursed into an awkward expression as he rubbed the top of his head.  He did that when he was thinking or unsure about something.  His hair was already unruly from a long day of creativity, and usually Steve thought he was adorable like this, but it was difficult to think that when Bucky started the conversation the way he did.  “I wouldn’t joke about that with you.”

 

“I know,” Steve answered quickly to assure Bucky, a horrified feeling growing in his gut at the idea that Bucky knew how Steve felt about him and worried that Steve might have gotten the wrong idea.  If Bucky felt the need to have an uncomfortable conversation with Steve about his intentions, then it must be worse than that.  “I know you didn’t mean me,” he rushed to promise.  “I wouldn’t hold you to that and I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about it.”

 

“No,” Bucky replied, but it wasn’t in the tone Steve expected.  He should sound like he was agreeing with Steve, not like he was frustrated with him.  His fingers pulled at his hair, making it tuft up even more.  He inhaled before reaching out and touching Steve’s arm. “That’s not what I meant.  I said it as a joke, but when it turned out to be about you I didn’t want it to be.  A joke.”  He looked at Steve’s face, probably seeing the confusion still written there.  “I regretted that it was so clearly a joke when it turned out that it was about someone I wanted it to be real with.  I want to go on a date with you.”

 

“Oh,” Steve reacted, amazed.  “Yes, sure, I want that too.  I could… are you free right now?”

 

“Yeah,” Bucky said, grinning. Delighted.

 

“Great!”  Steve was smiling way too much and didn’t even care.  “Full disclosure, though,” he continued self-consciously because Bucky deserved to know ahead of time. “I rarely wake up early enough to make coffee.”

 

Bucky shrugged, pressing the button for the elevator.  “Steve,” he imparted in all seriousness, but also with a hint of charm.  “I will quit caffeine entirely to stay in bed with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> [rebloggable version](http://relenafanel.tumblr.com/post/124433011238/i-like-my-coffee-like-i-like-my-men-strong-enough)
> 
> [Follow me on tumblr.](http://relenafanel.tumblr.com)


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